Preschoolers Celebrate Dr. Seuss’ Birthday With Daytime Slumber Party

Last week, students at the South County Pre-Kindergarten Co-op (SCPC) in Davidsonville, celebrated “Read Across America Day” by wearing pajamas to school and having a good old-fashion slumber party.

“Read Across America” is an annual event sponsored by the National Education Association (NEA). It is held each March 2, on Dr. Suess’ birthday. This year’s theme “Go Green and Read for the Trees” highlights “The Lorax” book, which also premiered in movie theaters on Friday.

Teacher Barbara Freeman said the co-op has observed “Read Across America Day” for 13 years. Each year, teachers and students bring to school their sleeping bag, pillow, favorite stuffed animal and book. Then they share a pretend sleepover.

At the slumber party, the children played board games, ate pizza and giggled a lot.

“It’s just like a real sleepover where everyone’s talking and no one’s sleeping,” said Freeman.

Of course the day included some time reading. With the lights dimmed and the children nestled in their sleeping bags, teacher’s aide Ann Collins, treated the children to Dr. Seuss’  “Cat in the Hat.”

“It’s a tradition to read ‘Cat in the Hat,’” said Collins who wore red and white striped pajamas just for the occasion.

To further encourage a love of reading, the school holds a “Cat in the Hat” reading program during the month of March.  Each time a student reads a book, they fill out a red or white strip of paper and place it in the Cat’s “Hat.” When the hat is full, the children have an ice cream party.

The Best Day Ever

All of the children agreed it was the best day ever at the Davidsonville preschool.

Connor Hayes, 4, of Davidsonville, said he liked everything about the day and wanted to know if he could wear his pajamas again on Monday.

Niko Moore, 5, of Owensville said he picked out the pair of PJ’s he wore to school and that he brought along “The Lorax” to share with his friends.

“I am going to stay in my pajamas all day,” Niko said. “It’s the best day ever.”

MacKenzie George, 4, of Davidsonville, Raegan Novak, 4, of Davidsonville and Katie Currey, 4, of Harwood, sat together on top of their sleeping bags on the playroom floor. They all agreed it was a lot of fun.

“This is my first slumber party,” said Katie. “So far it’s pretty cool.”

Perhaps A.J Thompson, 4, of Davidsonville, summed it up best when he said that “even though everyone was yakking instead of sleeping, he still had an awesome time.”

The South County Pre-Kindergarten Co-op

The South County Pre-Kindergarten Co-Op is located at the Davidsonville Family Recreation Center off Queen Anne Bridge Road. The school offers classes for children who are three or four years old.

Parents work in the classroom alongside paid staff about once a month; in addition, parent members can serve on committees; attend general membership meetings; participate in school clean-ups; and help out on at the annual fundraiser.

The three-year-olds go to school on Tuesdays and Thursdays. The four-year-olds attend on Monday, Wednesday and Fridays.  Morning and afternoon classes are available for both ages.

For additional information visit www.myscpc.org.

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Cynthia Giorgio is the co-founding editor of South River Source. Email Cynthia@southriversource.com.